Tuesday, December 27, 2016

MIZUNO Wave Sayonara 4 (Men US9.5) - Wear test review

Wear test review of
MIZUNO Wave Sayonara 4 (Men US9.5)

The Sayonara 4 represents the top line light weight trainer
of the Mizuno stable. In the past it has
been listed as a racer, but since then had been transformed into a hybrid of
racer/trainer. I would say more of the
characteristic of a trainer. The
construction of the shoe is ideal for those who are not use to racing flats and
use it for a fast race because of its light weight.

The shoe was provided by World Of Sports Malaysia for me to
do a wear test review, and the pair I got from them was the Blue/Lime color. This did not influence the outcome of the wear
test review.

The shoe was put into a run-in session of multiple runs
consisting of short runs of 5k to 6k, and progressively increased to 10k, 20k
and the finale acid test was a 35k run.
In the initial few runs, the sole is a bit hard, and hence I can hear
louder noise when my feet hit the tarmac.
As it gradually eased in, the rubber of the sole gets softer and the
loud noise during landing actually fades away. Overall the shoe had clocked about 100km
before I wrote this wear test review.

Outsole

The Sayonara 4 has an outsole with
a horseshoe shape of the Mizuno X10 black carbon rubber around the heel. The X10 had proven to be of soft and high
durability material to prolong wear and tear.
As I said the Sayonara 4 had clocked about 100km during my test run and
I don’t actually see much wear across the sole from the forefoot area and all
the way to the heel area. Hence in terms
of durability, I must say the X10 material handle it pretty well without
sacrificing anything on its weight and softness.

The outsole feels firmer compare
to other softer shoes of similar class. But sometimes when one is looking for
that extra push in a race, that firmness is something that what we are looking
for, and for that I really like it. But
if you are not fond of a firmer ride then this could be more of a nuisance
rather than an advantage.

Midsole

If you are not familiar with it,
Mizuno’s Wave Technology comes in 3 different designs, each with its own
role. In the Sayonara 4, it uses the
Parallel Wave plate combines with “U4ic” foam at midsole to give you a good
cushioning and propulsion (the action of pushing forward). I believed Mizuno use the Parallel Wave plate
was because it is considered the most appropriate for neutral runners, the
elastic thermal plastic plate was designed to absorb the impact from striking
and allocate it evenly throughout the midsole.
The benefit from this is to reduce in energy loss from one stride to
another. Hence this will give you a more
responsive strike.

Additionally, the added foam
provides a more structured feel at the bottom and gives the runner a better
support feeling compare to other shoe of the same class. This is something I found to be a plus point
on longer tempo runs. The U4ic foam is
thickest at the heel and gradually thins out toward the front of the shoe. This is a great consideration for heel
strikers that will wear this shoe off.

Upper

The upper had good breathability
that does not retain heat on a hot day.
What Mizuno did was to use an external mesh top (very thin layers) with
larger openings. To me this
constructions offer very good breathability without sacrificing durability (won’t
get torn easily)

Another area that is worth
mentioning was the plastic lined toe box.
It looks like an ordinary design but actually had proven that it
actually prevent water from getting into the top of the sock (if you run
through a puddle of water or wet lawn)
So happened I ran over a field during the test run after a downpour and
surprising the top of my sock did not get wet at all.

One more plus point that I would
like to mention in the Sayonara 4 is the lace guide on the tongue. This will secure the tongue properly when you
run. Ever experienced the shoe tongue
had completely moved over to the outside of your ankle? Elastic laces were used for the Sayonara 4
and it gives you good traction in terms of strength applied while lacing up and
securing the fit.

Fit

The Sayonara 4 is true to size (at
least for me). I do not need to go any
size up or down. The first fit give me a
good feeling that the fitting is perfectly OK comparing to other US9.5 that I
am wearing. The feel is exactly the
same. The shoe comes in a weight of 9 oz
(Men US9) and is consider light for a trainer.
Toebox is not narrow as I normally wear a Medium cut. Those who have wider feet may need to do a
shoe fit and check out if the toebox space is good enough.

Overall
The Sayonara 4 offered me a
comfortable ride, whether it is over a short run and longer LSD. Although it may not be my first choice for a
10k or 15k run, but definitely will be my top of the list for longer runs of
20k to 35k and beyond. It offered the
right amount of cushioning plus support yet not sacrificing on the weight
itself. A stack height of 28mm (heel)
and 18mm (forefoot) giving you a drop of 10mm.
If you are very used to lower drop shoes of 4mm or less, then you will
probably avoid this shoe. But if you are
one that consistently wear trainers with
12mm drop or higher, then the Sayonara 4 is the shoe for you on marathon race
day. Plus with the extra cushioning at
the heel and forefoot, it will definitely be of great help when you are
building up your distance. And if you
are a heel striker, you must give it a try.

Weight: 9.0oz (Men US9)
Stack Height: 28mm (Heel), 18mm (Forefoot)

Wear and Tear of the outsole after
about 100km.

The MIZUNO Wave Sayonara 4 is available at all
World Of Sports Malaysia outlet retailing at RM479.00